Financial Planning, Financial Tips, Goal Planning
AnnaMarie Mock, CFP®
Q3 Crunch Time: Keep Your Financial Goals from ...

As we close out the third quarter of the year, it's a natural time to pause and take stock of your progress toward your financial goals. By this point in the year, nine months of progress, challenges, and decisions have shaped where you stand today. With three months ahead, there's time to fine-tune your approach, close gaps, and position yourself to finish the year strong.

Q3 Crunch Time: Keep Your Financial Goals from Derailing
Financial Planning, Financial Tips, Retirement Planning, Savings
Edward Leach
Employer Retirement Plan Check-up

As we approach the year's final quarter, it’s the perfect time for a retirement plan check-up. Even if you set your 401(k) contributions months ago, life has a way of shifting the numbers — salary increases, bonuses, or payroll changes can all affect how much you are actually putting away.

Employer Retirement Plan Check-up
Financial Planning, Financial Tips
Reed C. Fraasa, CFP®, AIF®, RLP®
Money Flowing Out? Your January Financial Reset ...

As we embark on a new year, there's no better time to take control of your financial future by thoroughly reviewing your cash flow. If having a vision and establishing goals is the touchstone for a financial plan, this essential financial practice sets the foundation for achieving your goals and ensuring long-term financial stability.

Money Flowing Out? Your January Financial Reset Starts Now
Divorce Planning, Newly Independent Women
Joseph Goldy, CFP®, CDFA®
Understanding the CDFA® Designation: Your ...

Anyone who has gone through a divorce knows how emotionally challenging and financially complex it can be. While attorneys handle the legal aspects, a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® focuses specifically on the financial implications of divorce. This specialized designation equips professionals with the expertise to guide clients through the intricate financial aspects of divorce proceedings, ensuring better outcomes for their financial future.

Understanding the CDFA® Designation: Your Financial Ally During Divorce
Pharmaceutical Professionals, Stock Options, Financial Planning
AnnaMarie Mock, CFP®
Science Meets Finance: How The Scientific ...

Anna Marie Mock, a fee-only certified financial planner at Highland Financial Advisors, discusses the dynamic interplay between art and science in financial planning. Drawing inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's philosophy that "everything connects to everything else," she emphasizes that financial planning is an art involving subjective goal-setting and a science-driven by objective analysis tools. In this video, Anna explains how the scientific method can be applied to financial planning, using equity compensation as a concrete example. 

Science Meets Finance: How The Scientific Method is Applied in Financial Planning | Ep. 6

Preventing Senior Scams

Preventing Senior Scams

One of the harmful outcomes of the quarantining from Coronavirus is the increase in scams targeting seniors. Seclusion puts seniors at a higher risk because the loneliness can lead to greater vulnerability. In a previous article, "Don't Fall for These Common Financial Scams", AnnaMarie Mock, CFPâ described many common financial scams and noted that everyone, young and old alike, can be a target for fraud. However, seniors are especially at risk because they typically have more assets to lose and may have diminished capacity.

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Loss Aversion: Financial Behavior to Avoid

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Loss Aversion: Financial Behavior to Avoid

I recently celebrated my 45th birthday. Admittedly, celebrating anything while social distancing is considerably less fun, but it was still a great time to reflect on life in general and how the first 45 years have gone so far. Of course, being in finance, thoughts also turned to all of the various market events I have witnessed in that period. The tech bubble bursting in 2000, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the 2008 financial crisis, and now a pandemic. It seems that once-in-a-lifetime black swan events have happened four times and counting in my career as a financial professional.

Financial Information is Not the Same as Financial Knowledge

Financial Information is Not the Same as Financial Knowledge

If knowledge is the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association, how do we get the knowledge that leads to such intimacy? The Greek word for this is epignosis – the full knowledge. Knowledge that you can trust in times of crisis and increased uncertainty.

Wisdom – The Foundation of a Belief System

Wisdom – The Foundation of a Belief System

If wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and sound judgment, how do we acquire wisdom with our money? I have witnessed extremely bright, successful people second-guess themselves and make irrational choices with their money. I have also observed other intelligent people possess certain wisdom on how things work, and they can separate their investment capital from the news of the day and feel very confident in their choices. 

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Does more information help us make better decisions?

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Does more information help us make better decisions?

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

T.S. Eliot, The Rock, 1932

What does Eliot’s critique of modernity, which holds that we are losing something valuable in our lives as we pursue technical progress, have anything to do with investing and personal financial planning?

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Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): Do You Want Triple Tax Savings?

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Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): Do You Want Triple Tax Savings?

Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average cost per person for healthcare increased 101% over the last 35 years from $2,500 to $5,000, and the healthcare system increased by 4.6% over 2018 to reach $3.6 trillion! 

3 Common Causes of Recessions

Most recessions are the result of fiscal tightening following periods of high growth and inflation, with the Federal Reserve raising overnight rates to put the brakes on the economy.

A second common cause of a recession is the collapse of a group of businesses or assets due to lousy management resulting in a financial contagion. The Savings and Loan Crisis and the real estate bubble and sub-prime mortgage of the Great Recession are examples.

The third type of recession is an event-driven collapse of investor and consumer confidence leading to massive selling of stocks, reduction in spending, and eventually a business slowdown and employee layoffs.

When it comes to event-driven market selloffs and recessions, it is essential to understand that, historically, when the event is waning, the markets have already begun to rebound.

Here is a look back on Recessions since WWII, and S&P 500 performance during those recessions, showing not all recessions are created equal.

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Real I.D.: Added Step To Fly Domestically

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Real I.D.: Added Step To Fly Domestically

The REAL ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005 to set a standard for identification cards. As of December 2013, the Department of Homeland Security implemented an enforcement plan schedule that was modified in 2018 by President Trump. The Act sets a minimum-security standard for licenses and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting identification cards that do not meet the criteria.

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How Are You Investing Your Most Valuable Asset: Time

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How Are You Investing Your Most Valuable Asset: Time

Whether or not you have an interest in sports, you have likely heard about the helicopter crash involving Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and the seven other people on board who lost their lives. As reported, eight seconds after losing communication with the helicopter, it plummeted at a rate of descent increasing to over 4,000 feet per minute, traveling about 185 mph on impact. The families on the aircraft were all on their way to a children's travel basketball game.

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New to A 401(k) Plan?

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New to A 401(k) Plan?

In 2006, the Pension Protection Act (PPA) was passed which introduced tax incentives for companies to adopt automatic enrollment and deferral increases. Since 2006, many plan sponsors have implemented automatic enrollment which was designed to positively influence employees’ behavior to improve their retirement savings.

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SECURE Act

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SECURE Act

According to Northwestern Mutual’s 2019 Planning & Progress Study, 17% of baby boomers have less than $5,000 saved for retirement and 20% have less in personal savings. With an increase in longevity and decreased purchasing power, more individuals have to supplement Social Security income with personal savings during retirement. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 55% of the adult population participated in an employer retirement plan in 2018, and Vanguard reported that the median 401(k) balances for individuals age 65 or older are $58,000.

Traveling Made Easier: TSA PreCheck and Global Entry

Traveling Made Easier: TSA PreCheck and Global Entry

As of January 2019, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported that 99.9% of passengers wait less than 30 minutes for security checks at airports. This doesn’t seem factual when you are waiting in the security line with no end in sight. During my very warm welcome back into the states in the customs line, I was curious as to what traveler program provides the highest value for the lowest cost. There are many programs that are offered through the government and private companies, but the two most popular programs are the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry.

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Understanding Your W-4 Tax Form

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Understanding Your W-4 Tax Form

Benjamin Franklin wisely observed that “nothing can be said to be certain, except for death and taxes”. Centuries later, this still rings true. Most earned income will be subject to taxes and tax withholding as determined by Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate. Form W-4 is an IRS form you, as an employee, complete directing your employer on the amount of pay to withhold from every paycheck for federal taxes. Accurately completing your W-4 is beneficial to you because it can prevent overpayment of your taxes, putting more money in your pocket. It can, also, avoid underpayment of your taxes, which ensures that there will be no unexpected tax bill or penalty due.

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You Should Have a Medical ID on Your Phone

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You Should Have a Medical ID on Your Phone

Imagine you are in an accident or have a medical emergency. That can certainly be a scary situation. But what if you could not speak or were unconscious? How would the first responders or medical professionals know whether you have any ongoing medical conditions, food or drug allergies, what medications you are currently taking, or what blood type you are?

Custodial Accounts for Minors: UGMA and UTMA

Custodial Accounts for Minors: UGMA and UTMA

There are myriad ways to save for higher education expenses and choosing the best college savings account depends on your personal needs and preferences. Ever since Congress passed the Small Business Job Protection Act in 1996, which established 529 college savings plans as a tax-advantaged investment vehicle, 529 plans have become the most popular college savings account for Americans. 529 plans have gained favor because some states offer tax deductibility for contributions, earnings grow state and federally tax-deferred, and withdrawals are tax-free as long as the money is used to pay for qualified education expenses.

Remember to Review and Update Your Estate Plan

Remember to Review and Update Your Estate Plan

In a previous article titled “The Estate Planning Essentials”, I identified the documents needed for a comprehensive estate plan. Although this can be a morbid topic most want to avoid thinking about, reviewing the documents not only ensures your financial legacy is passed in accordance with your wishes as smoothly as possible but guides your agent to ensure your medical and financial wishes are addressed. So, how often should you review your estate planning documents?

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